Ohio State-New Mexico State Game Highlights

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Ohio State—New Mexico State: Week Nine Preview, Free History Lesson Included

By HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation



No. 17 Ohio State (6-2) finishes up their 2009 OOC schedule this week as they host the New Mexico State Aggies (3-5, 1-3) of the Western Athletic Conference. Kickoff is Saturday at 12:00PM in Ohio Stadium.

The Aggies are currently seventh in the WAC standings. They have beaten Prairie View A&M, New Mexico, and Utah State, and have lost to Idaho, UTEP, San Diego State, Louisiana Tech, and Fresno State.

New Mexico State—By The Numbers:

Quarterbacks Jeff Fleming (pictured at top right) and Trevor Walls have combined for 831 passing yards, 101 rushing yards, with four passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns, but also 11 interceptions.

Starting tailback Seth Smith has 162 carries for 703 yards and two scores.

The Aggies leading receivers are Todd Lee (18 receptions, 208 yards, one touchdown), Marcus Allen (18 receptions, 195 yards), and Marcus Anderson (18 receptions, 178 yards one touchdown).

Ohio State—By The Numbers:

Terrelle Pryor bounced back nicely last week against Minnesota and this week SHOULD be more of the same. He has completed 55 percent of his passes for 1408 yards and 12 touchdowns to nine interceptions, and his QB rating is up from 128 to 132.

OSU's top receiver is true sophomore DeVier Posey who had eight catches and two touchdowns last week to bring his season totals up to 38 catches, 516 yards, and six scores.

The Buckeyes top three rushers, Pryor, Brandon Saine, and Dan Herron have combined for 1138 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Dan Herron and Brandon Saine are both nursing injuries, so don't be surprised to see the trio of freshmen backs—Jordan Hall, Jermil Martin, and Jaamal Berry—in this game.

Ohio State's offense looked much better last week, but it was against a bad Minnesota defense. New Mexico State's "D" is likely even more pathetic so the half-century plateau is possible this week, even with the ultra-conservative Jim Tressel calling the plays.

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10/31/2009—Game Nine—12:00PM Kickoff
TV: Big Ten Network

VS.

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Ohio State—New Mexico State History and Tidbits:

• This will be the first ever meeting between Ohio State and New Mexico State in football.

• Ohio State is 46-2 in their last 48 home games vs. OOC opponents.

• Ohio State is 37-0 at home vs. non-BCS conference opponents, since 1990.

• Ohio State is 3-0 all-time vs. WAC opponents (SJSU once, Fresno State twice).

• The last Ohio State loss to a non-BCS opponent came in the 1990 Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tennessee) against Air Force by a score of 23-11.

• New Mexico State's football program began in 1894.

• The Aggies have only played against two Big Ten teams all-time, losing both times to Wisconsin in Madison in 1962 by a score of 69-13, and to Iowa in Iowa City in 1995 by a score of 59-21.

• This is DeWayne Walker's first year as New Mexico State Head Coach after serving the past three seasons as UCLA's defensive coordinator.

• New Mexico State's last conference championship came in 1978 when the Aggies were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

• New Mexico State has lost 12 straight to ranked opponents since a 35-7 win at No. 22 Arizona State back in 1999.

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I usually post some keys to the game and/or recap the article at this point, but there's really not much else to say here except that anything less than a blowout will be a letdown for the Buckeyes.

Just to give everyone a baseline, New Mexico State lost its' last two WAC games, falling at home last week to 4-3 Fresno State by a score of 34-3, and on the road the week before to 3-4 La Tech by a score of 45-7.

Generally, the transitive property doesn't apply when it comes to college football, but if Fresno State can put up 34 in a 31-point win, and La Tech can put up 45 in a 38-point win, Ohio State better be able to put up 50+, despite how bad the Buckeye offense has looked at times this season.

Final score prediction:

Ohio State 55, New Mexico State 0


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How a Soft October Schedule Will Ultimately Help the Buckeyes

by Tim Bielik
BlockONation Analyst
OSU Featured Columnist


Many people still aren't sure what to make of the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2009, after falling just short of beating USC, then shutting out Toledo.

What confuses so many others is how, or why, Ohio State actually dropped in the AP poll after the 38-0 shutout win over the Rockets.

I was recently approached by FC Coordinator Trey Bradley who gave me a great thought and theme for the next few weeks: "If you don't hear from the Buckeyes for awhile, it's a good thing."

I looked at the upcoming schedule for the Buckeyes, and anything less than a 5-0 October would be considered disastrous in Columbus.

When the toughest game in the next few weeks is at home against Wisconsin, that is something the Buckeyes can build off of.

And this young team still needs to get some seasoning. The defense is one of the better units in the nation, but the offense still needs work.

And only one thing can fix what ails this offense: reps. For these next six weeks, that will be exactly what the OSU offense will get.

Terrelle Pryor has shown great improvements as a passer, though his decision-making needs some serious work.

Running back has become a serious problem, as Dan Herron has struggled to be effective, and Brandon Saine has inconsistencies of his own as a runner.

If the Buckeyes offense wants to be successful this season, it will have to become an air attack squad, anchored by stud wideouts Dane Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey. Both receivers have shown tremendous big play ability and separation speed.

Saine and true freshman Duron Carter have also become solid targets in the passing attack. Not to mention that this type of attack will play towards the strength of the offensive line, which is better as a pass blocking unit.

Defensively, this might be the most athletic group in recent years, anchored by a great defensive line with Thaddeus Gibson and Cameron Heyward as superstar bookends. One surprise this season, freshman DT John Simon, has played tremendously and been a force in his short time.

As for the schedule, Ohio State has two road games in October, both against Indiana and Purdue, which on paper should be big wins for the Buckeyes.

The two conference home games might be closer, with the Badgers and Minnesota Gophers coming to town. They end the month with a home OOC game against New Mexico State, a team considered by most to be one of the worst teams in the country.

A perfect 5-0 in the month of October is easily attainable, but Buckeye fans will want more in the coming weeks. They will want to see a more efficient offense and the defense continuing to play outstandingly.

They want to see these improvements happen because November is not a kind month for the Buckeyes, with road games at Penn State and Michigan, and their only home game that month against the Hawkeyes.

If Ohio State looks great and shows more improvement throughout October, people will be looking at them as potentially running the table in the Big Ten and possibly a trip to Pasadena.

Regardless of how they are ranked, they are still in a position to make some noise in the BCS and hopefully end their three-game bowl losing streak.

If they win in October, OSU can quietly sneak up on teams in the polls as other teams should get knocked off in a similar pattern to the previous three weeks.

If that happens, don't be surprised to see the Buckeyes playing in a big bowl game once again in January. For this young brand of Buckeyes, a "Red October" could be the start of turning fortunes around in Columbus.


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